7 Simple Ways to Manage Your Mood
Part of taking care of ourselves is consciously CHOOSING behaviors that add value to our lives.
Right? Drinking wine every night to blow off steam is not adding value. Smoking cannabis daily is not adding value, you may disagree, but I am talking long-term. That there are detrimental health impacts to using these behaviors daily. Ideally, we want to incorporate daily practices that have compounding results not diminishing returns.
Focus on Intention
We have all heard that phrase-“energy flows where your attention goes.” In this example, there are two key concepts
ATTENTION and INTENTION
Setting an intention before a task or an experience can help attention flow in that direction.
For example, when working out, “I want to engage my core more.” By setting the INTENTION, we CREATE an opportunity, an anchor for our ATTENTION, to keep coming back to. Bringing our attention back to our anchor, whatever that may be, is a mindfulness practice in itself. Ultimately, leading to us more likely getting the results we crave.
Positive Visualization
Imagine that whatever is coming next in your day will GO WELL!
Ahhh, wouldn’t be nice if there were no lines at the grocery store. Connect to the feeling that is invoked when you imagine things going your way. When I say, connect to the feeling, I mean, notice what is happening in your body, where there is space and calm in your body, be with that by allowing your attention to subtlety shift to what feels good in your body.
For example, when I go to IKEA, I imagine they will have the cabinets I have been waiting for. (Drop down into your body) ahhh I sense an opening in my chest, more access to breath in my belly and relaxation in my shoulders. Connect to the positive sensations and stay with them for 2-3 minutes. We actually have to practice staying with what feels good, not only for our mental health but for our physical health. Send the message to your body that “things are okay. I am okay.”
Set Realistic Expectations- Practice SCALING BACK!
I used to be an over-productive, over-achiever. Yes, and I am recovering! Seriously, I use to put so many demands on myself that I would almost work myself into a manic high trying to get it all done. And how would I come down? Alcohol. And you know what? This cycle does not add value to my life, long-term. So I am changing, little by little.
Start at the root. Explore what is driving the behavior. Therapy can help with this.
Fast forward to now, mentally, I make a list of about five things to get done each day, and then I scale back, and only allow three ‘goals’ to make “the list.” I then prioritize by the level of motivation. What I am least motivated to do or what is most daunting I do first. Yep. It is not always easy.
Talk to A Friend
Having a bad day? Call a friend and ask them how they are doing? Yep, make it about them! This helps our minds get out of whatever thought patterns playing out negatively.
INTENTIONALLY, shift your ATTENTION!
Write It Down
Yes, expressing ourselves whether through writing, talking, or creating can help us move emotion and process our experiences.
Emotion = Energy in Motion
Let it flow!!
The choice point here is to the conscious channel it in a productive way.
By creating rituals for self-expression we can be intentional and have the foresight that we actually need outlets or else things could be nasty. Like if you have a tendency to bottle emotions up only to explore later. Create opportunities for yourself to press the release value.
Seek “Calm”
Create a daily ritual where you connect to calm. This could be listening to a spiritual song that brings you serenity or giving your dog a belly rub for five minutes post-work or taking five minutes to focus on just breathing each day. These are also called “coping skills.” The daily practices that you PRACTICE (this is an important piece) to help yourself come back to center. Sometimes we have to do this 50 times a day, but maybe you aren’t as much of a lunatic as I am. Wink Wink.
Change Your Mindset
The goal is not to beat stress, the goal is to harass it and ride the wave. We can harass it by changing our thoughts about experiencing stress or certain situations. When I find myself jumping ahead, wanting to blow pass a challenging point in life (like right now,) my mantra (mantra meaning “mind-wave”) that I say softly to myself is:
“Fall in love with the process.”
Feelings follow mindset. By reflecting on the teachings of a challenge, thinking about what gifts have been given as a result of a challenging life circumstance we can change our relationship to stress. It is empowering!!
“What opportunity is here for me to step into?”
And then tap into feelings, sensing into your physical body, your heart space, getting thankful, finding appreciation. Then take a small action aligned with this appreciation, it could be a gratitude list, it could be to take a bow honoring nature, it could be sending a loving text to someone, it could be picking up trash on the way to the car.
The action is very important because this is how we co-create our lives.
Small action steps aligned with what your heart truly desires leads to big shifts over time.
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